Door-opening device



(No Model.)

" A. L. PEOK & L. H. TAFT.

DOOR OPENING DEVICE.

No. 581,132. Patented Apr. 20, 1897.

INVENTO@J; ,m 05, w

a umu. wnsum STATES ABE LINCOLN PECK AND 'LYMAN H. TAFT, OF LOlVELL,MICHIGAN.

DOOR-OPENING DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 581,132, dated April20, 1897. Application filed February 18, 1896. Serial No. 579,725. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ABE LINCOLN Pack and LYMAN H. TAFT, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Lowell, county of Kent, State of Michigan,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Door-OpeningDevices; and we declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention has for its object a device which is adapted to open adoor from a distant point. It is especially applicable to stores, shops,and similar places of business where it is desirable to open the doorfor an incoming or outgoing customer and close the door after thecustomer has passed through, either entering the building or emergingfrom it.

In the drawings, Figure 1 shows the inside of a building having a doorwith an ordinary thumb-latch to which the improved device is applied.Fig. 2 shows in detail the fixtures used at the bottom of the door. Fig.3 shows in detail the preferred form of said fixtures.

A indicates the door. B indicates the latch, and O the catch of thelatch.

Under the fioor beneath the door is swung a lever D, whose fulcrum d isin line with the pintle of the hinges of the door, and the lever itselfis provided with a stem (1, that rises through the floor-and is securedat its upper end to the body of the door.

To the lever D,nearits free end,is fulcrumed a bell-crank lever E, andto one end of this bell-crank lever E is attached an endless cord orcable e, that passes around suitably-disposed sheaves fff and leads toany distant part of the apartment. I This endless cord 6 would generallybe disposed partly under the fioor of the apartment and partly above it,that part which is under the floor traversing spaces where the cordwould be in the way if it were disposed above the fioor, and that partwhich is above the floor traversing spaces where the user can haveaccess to it, and through its use actuate first the bell-crank lever Eand next the lever D and the door.

From the second end of the bell-crank lever E suitable cords or rodsreach to the latch b.

The arrangement of the cords or rods maybe varied from that shown in thedrawings, the main essential being that there shall be a link reachingfrom the end e of the bell-crank lever E to the end of the bell-cranklever F, which lever is adapted to actuate a vertical link g, and it isalso essential that the vertical link 9 shall rise through the floor ator near the center of rotation of the door A, and that a connecting-linkshall pass forward from thence to a device suitably disposed to lift thelatch-lever B.

Figs. 2 and 3 show different forms of levers by which the motion that isrequired to actuate the latch is carried from the main actuating-cordupward through the floor that lies below the door and thence to thelevers and links which actuate the latch. The auxiliary lever E is thesame in both instances, and near the vertical stem 61' there is in bothinstances a bell-crank lever which is hung on a horizontal pin. In Fig.2 this bell-crank lever is at one side of the arm D, and in Fig. 3 it isshown as hung in a notch or slot that is cut longitudinally in the armD. From the end of this bell-crank lever F a link passes upward toanother bell-crank lever H, that is properly located above the floor. Inthe form shown in Fig. 2 this link g passes up at one side of the stem01, and in the form shown in Fig. 3 it passes up through the interior ofthe stem 01, which is hollowed out for that purpose. In the first form(that shown in Fig. 2) the bell-crank lever that lies above the floormaybe attached directly to the door, as shown in Fig. 1, while in thesecond form it may preferably be attached to the fixture shown in Fig.3, the variation in the place of attachment not making any change in theprinciple of action of the parts, though in the form shown in Fig. 3 thefixture becomes more of a unitary structure than in the form shown inFig. 2.

As shown in the drawings, a second bellcrank lever F is pinned to themain lever D, and one end f of this lever F is linked to the end 6 ofthe first bell-crank lever. The

other end f is linked by a vertical link g to the bell-crank lever H.The lever H is linked to the lever K on the front of the door, and

ICO

this lever K is linked to the latch-lever. An operator pulling on thecable 6 at any point first actuates the lever D. If he is pulling in adirection to lift the latch-lever l3, the first result is to lift thelatch-lever until further motion of the latch-lever is stopped byengagement of the upper edge of the latch and the keeper Z). The door isnow free to swing on its hinges, and the further pull 011 the cable (2draws the end of the lever D around and opens the door. A pull in theopposite or reverse direction closes the door, first, of course, turningthe lever E until it is stopped with respect to the lever D.

lVhat we claim is 1. In a door-opening device in combination with thedoor, a lever provided with a hollow stein secured to the door with itshollow stein in line with the pintles of the door-hinges and alsoprovided with an auxiliary lever on its free arin, an endless cableengaging the auxiliary lever, link connections leading from theauxiliary lever through the hollow stem and adapted to actuate the latchof the door,

and means for supporting the endless cable, substantially as described.

2. In a door-opening device, the combination with a door-actuating leverprovided with means for attachment to the door, and a stem adapted to beplaced in line with the pintles of the door-hinges, of alatch-actuatinglever pivoted to the free end of the door-opening lever,suitable link and lever connections leading upward in substantial.alinement with the hinge-pintles of the door, an endless cable andsupports thereforsecu red to the latchaetuating lever and adapted toactuate first the latch-actuating lever and subsequently thedoor-opening lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

ABE LIXCOLN PECK. LYMAN II. TAF'I.

Witnesses:

l 0. llomnazs, .losnrn W. OLivEn.

